Robert Redford's life was far from ideal when he was younger. Born in California on August 18, 1936, Robert was raised by his parents who were often too busy to care for him entirely.

So his uncle stepped in as a father figure of sorts when Robert was a little older and showed him things like how to play football and speak to women. Unfortunately, his uncle passed away during WWII and he was left without a sense of direction.

Shortly after his uncle's passing, Robert's mother died while giving birth to stillborn twins when he was just 18 years old. Life's tough blows just seemed to keep coming....

In the midst of all of the sadness, Robert was awarded a baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado. Things didn't last long there, either - Robert lost his scholarship due to intoxication and was kicked off of the team!

Once again, Robert was wandering aimlessly in life. Little did he know, his true calling would present itself before he knew it!

After spending months traveling the country and saving up money working odd jobs, Robert booked himself a ticket to Europe to study the arts in Paris, France and Florence, Italy. There he was inspired to follow his love and passion for the theatre!

As soon as Robert got home, he began to look for jobs as a theatrical designer in New York City. But instead of designing the stage, Robert found himself performing on it!

After one decent Broadway performance before, Robert was signed for the production of "Barefoot in the Park" in 1962. His career started to improve incrementally from there, but it wasn't until the show was filmed fives years later did his popularity amongst Americans skyrocket!

Despite his obvious handsomeness, Robert never banked on his good looks to gain traction in showbusiness. In fact, Robert hated the idea that he could be given parts due to his good looks and worked diligently on his craft to make producers realize that he was the "real deal."

Even as budding actor, Robert was never one to shy away from a dark character or political theme that questioned life as we know it. Channeling his life's own personal pain was something that came easy to him.

In fact, Robert embraced the idea of questioning the norm and his willingness to do so helped propel his career even further.

"It felt to me like America was always wanting to resolve things too quickly, without thinking through what the costs and consequences would be and how that affects an individual living in that world. Then as I grew up and went about my life, I think I just got more and more interested in that gray area where things are not so easily quantified."

That gray area was where Robert thrived and it proved to be a fruitful pursuit for the handsome young man.

While Robert's career was taking off, his home life was growing just as fast! After marrying Lola Van Wagenen in 1958, the pair quickly decided to start a family.

During the course of their marriage, Lola gave birth to four children, one of which died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The other three grew to be happy, healthy adults with families of their own now!

Unfortunately, Lola and Robert couldn't make their love last and divorced in 1985, after 27 years together.

Love would find Robert again in 2009, when he married his now-wife Sibylle Szaggars. Not only is Robert's heart whole again, but the 80-year-old is also still very active in the acting scene! It seems as though there's no stopping this talented actor!